The City of Bloomington Utilities released its annual drinking water quality report June 28, detecting 13 contaminants during the year at levels within the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards. 70 contaminants were not detected throughout Bloomington’s drinking water.
The 13 contaminants detected were coliform bacteria, organic carbon, turbidity, beta/photon emitters, gross alpha (excluding radium and uranium), combined radium, barium, copper, chloramines, lead, trilomethanes, haloacetic acids and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid.
The report shows most contaminants detected in Bloomington’s drinking water came from natural sources, erosion of natural deposits, corrosion of household plumbing systems and by-products of water disinfection processes.
[Related: City of Bloomington utilities fails to report April water samples to IDEM]
Lead, a toxic metal in drinking water that can cause negative health effects including developmental delays in children, was detected at a maximum of 3.3 parts per billion, below the EPA’s limit of 15 parts per billion. Additionally, the report says 90% of samples collected had lower values than this measurement.
Total organic carbon, a measurement that was not reported to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management due to a shipping issue, had a 44.5% removal average, complying with the EPA’s minimum 35%.
The City of Bloomington Utilities reports further information on Bloomington’s water supply on its open data portal, including more detailed reports on contaminants like lead, copper and organic matter.
